Evolution Korea
The financial crisis that hit Asia prompted a major reappraisal the traditional system of government, business alliances, as well as public management of risk. In Korea this meant a shift in the model of development.
In a controversial decision the South Korean government has asked publishers of textbooks to ignore calls to remove examples of evolution in science texts for high school students. This includes evidence of the evolution of horses and the bird ancestral Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A group of creationists in South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to omit evidence of evolution in high school science textbooks. The decision was the result of a campaign run by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR) an independent offshoot of the Korea Association for Creation Research, which wants to rid textbooks on biology of "atheist materialism." The STR claims that such materialistic thinking creates a negative picture for students, and could lead to their eventual loss of faith.
When the STR's ad campaign made the news, scientists across the world expressed alarm. In a letter addressed to the editor of Nature the evolutionary biologist Jae Choe from Ewha Womans University in Seoul complained that South Korea had given in to religious prejudice. He was supported by colleagues across the country, who set up an organization called Evolution Korea to organize a petition against the textbook changes.
Researchers are also worried about the possibility that the STR campaign could spread to other regions of the world, where creationism is on the rise. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolutionist campaign putting pressure on textbook revisions, particularly in countries with large Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea's cultural background is particularly strong in the debate over evolution. 26 percent of South Koreans belong to of a religion and the majority of them practice Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans also adhere to Ch'ondogyo - an ideology based on Confucian principles that emphasizes social harmony, individual self-cultivation and self-respect. Ch'ondogyo teaches that the human being is one with Hanulnim the God of Sun, and that divine blessings are achievable through the good works of one's.
All of this has provided an ideal environment for the spread of creationism. Numerous studies have revealed that students with religion-based backgrounds tend to be more uncomfortable about learning about evolution than students without religion. The underlying causes are not evident. Students who are religious may be less knowledgeable about scientific theories, making them more susceptible to the creationists and their influence. Another reason could be that students who have a religious background may view evolution as an idea that is agnostic, making them feel uncomfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, campaigns against evolution in schools have raised concerns within the scientific community. A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that over 40% of Americans believe that biological evolution is wrong, and that a belief in it would conflict with their convictions about religion. Many scientists believe that, despite the popularity of creationism the best way to counter this belief is to educate the public about the evidence for evolution.
Scientists are accountable to instruct their students in science including the theory of evolution. They also need to inform the general public about the process of science and how knowledge is gathered and verified. They must explain how scientific theories are frequently challenged and revised. However, misconceptions about nature and purpose of research can lead to a negative view of evolution.
For example, some people are able to confuse the term "theory" with the common meaning of the word, which is a hunch or a guess. In science, however an hypothesis is rigorously tested and empirical evidence is used to verify it. A theory that is repeatedly tested and observed becomes a scientific principle.
The debate about the evolutionary theory provides a great occasion to discuss the importance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is essential to understand that science does not provide answers to questions about life's purpose or meaning, but allows living things to evolve and change.
Furthermore, a comprehensive education should cover all major fields of science including evolutionary biology. This is crucial because a lot of jobs and decisions require that individuals understand how science works.
The vast majority of scientists around the world believe that humans have evolved over time. A recent study predicting adults' opinions of the consensus around this issue found that those with higher levels of education and science knowledge were more likely to believe there is a broad agreement among scientists on the subject of human evolution. Those who have more religious beliefs and have less science knowledge are more likely to disagree. It is essential that educators insist on knowing the consensus on this issue to ensure that individuals have a solid foundation for making informed decisions regarding their health care, energy use and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close cousin to mainstream evolutionary theory, cultural evolution explores the many ways that organisms, including humans, learn from and with one another. Researchers in this area use explanatory tools and investigative models derived from evolutionary theorists and reach back to the prehistoric human to find the origins of culture.
This method also acknowledges the differences between the characteristics of culture and biological. Cultural traits can be acquired slowly, whereas biological traits are mostly inherited simultaneously (in the case of sexual species after fertilization). The acquisition of a cultural characteristic can influence the development and growth of a different.
In 에볼루션 바카라 사이트 For instance the introduction of Western fashion elements in the latter half of the 19th and early 20th centuries was the result of a complex series of events. One of the most important was the arrival of Japanese occupation forces, who introduced Western hairstyles and clothing styles to Korean society.
When Japan departed Korea in the 1930s, a few of those trends began to reverse. By the end of World War II, Korea had once again unified but this time under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is an economic and political power. Despite the current global financial crisis, the country's economy has been growing steadily over the past decade and is set to continue its healthy growth in the future.
The current government is faced with a variety of challenges. The inability of the government to come up with an effective strategy to deal with the current economic crisis is among the most significant challenges. The crisis has revealed the weaknesses of the country's economic policies, mainly its overreliance on exports and foreign investment that may not be sustainable over the long term.
The crisis has shaken the confidence of investors. This means that the government has to reconsider its approach and find other ways to boost the domestic demand. To ensure a stable and stable financial environment, the government will have reform its incentive system, monitoring and discipline. This chapter presents several scenarios for how the Korean economy might develop post-crisis.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for educators of evolution is to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for various stages of development and ages. For example, teachers must be aware of the diversity of religions in their classrooms and create an environment that students who have secular and religious views feel comfortable in learning about evolution. Moreover, teachers need to recognize common misconceptions about evolution and how to deal with these in their classrooms. Teachers must also be able to access a range of resources that are available for teaching evolution and be able to locate them quickly.
In this context, Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation played an important role in bringing together evolutionary researchers and educators from different sectors to discuss the best methods of teaching Evolution. The participants included representatives from scientific societies as well as educational researchers, officials of government funding agencies, and curriculum developers. The convergence of these diverse groups helped to identify a shared set of recommendations that will be the foundation for future actions.
It is crucial to include evolution in all science curricula at every level. To achieve this it is recommended that the National Science Education Standards (NRC) require that evolution be taught in a unified way across the life sciences, with a progression of concepts that are developmental appropriate. A new publication from the NRC provides guidelines for schools on how to integrate evolution into the life science curriculum.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that a more comprehensive presentation of evolution leads to better understanding by students and belief in the concept of evolution. However it is difficult to determine the causal impact of teaching in the classroom is a challenge given that school curricula are not assigned randomly and evolve over time as a result of the predetermined timing of gubernatorial elections and state board of education appointments. To overcome this problem I use a longitudinal data set that gives me to control for the fixed effects of state and years as well as individual-level variations in the beliefs of teachers regarding evolutionary theory.
Another important finding is that teachers who feel more comfortable teaching evolution report having fewer personal barriers to doing so. This is in line with the idea that more confident faculty are less likely to be hesitant about evolution-related topics in the classroom, and may be more inclined to employ strategies like a reconciliatory method which is used to increase the students' understanding of evolution.